Tag Archives: Montana

CNN reports: Montana Sen. Jon Tester announced Wednesday morning that he will seek reelection in 2024, providing a boost to Democrats’ hopes of retaining the Senate. “It’s official. I’m running for reelection,” Tester tweeted. “Montanans need a fighter that will hold our government accountable and demand Washington stand up for veterans and lower costs for families. I will always fight …

The Helena Independent reports: Former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot said over the weekend that the Montana Republican Party recently informed him of a resolution voted on and approved by party leadership declaring he is no longer considered a Republican. Racicot was elected governor on the GOP ticket twice in Montana, and also was the chair of the Republican National Committee …

From the Justice Department: A federal jury convicted a Montana man of hate and firearms crimes for firing an AK-style assault rifle at the residence of a woman, who identified as lesbian, and was home at the time. After a four-day trial that began on Feb. 14, the jury found John Russell Howald, 46, of Basin, Montana, guilty of hate …

Montana Public Radio reports: A bill in the state Legislature seeking to regulate science curriculum in public schools got its first hearing Monday. The legislation’s sponsor says by banning scientific theories, the policy aims to prevent kids from being taught things that aren’t true. More than 20 people testified against Senate Bill 235, concerned that it could keep teachers from …

The Montana Free Press reports: State lawmakers in the House of Representatives gave broad approval Monday to a bill that would allow medical providers, health care facilities and insurers to deny services based on “ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles,” signaling the bill’s likely advancement to the Senate this week. House Bill 303, sponsored by Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, …

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Keith Regier is proposing asking Congress to study alternatives to reservations. The measure, submitted this week and riddled with racial stereotypes, is unlikely to pass and would have no practical effect if it did. But it’s causing tensions to surface at the Republican-controlled Montana Legislature that kicked off this week. Regier said the language …

Billings’ CBS affiliate reports: A Lame Deer pastor was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on sexual abuse charges alleged to have occurred on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Dean Alan Smith, 66, pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of abusive sexual contact and three counts of abusive sexual contact …

ProPublica reports: In a victory for public health advocates, a federal judge in Montana has blocked the state from implementing a law that would make it illegal for hospitals to ask employees if they are vaccinated. The measure, which passed last year, was the country’s most extreme anti-vaccination law. Health care providers in Montana had sued the state over the …

Reuters reports: Ryan Zinke, a former secretary of the U.S. Interior Department under then-President Donald Trump, who stepped down in 2018 amid ethics probes, won a U.S. House of Representatives seat in Montana, Edison Research projected on Thursday. Zinke, a Republican who served in the House from 2015 to 2017 before joining the Trump administration, beat Democrat Monica Tranel, an …

The Associated Press reports: Just hours after a Montana judge blocked health officials from enforcing a state rule that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate, the Republican-run state on Thursday said it would defy the order. District Court Judge Michael Moses chided attorneys for the state during a hearing in Billings for circumventing his …

The Great Falls Tribune reports: Two Montana brothers whom the FBI has said were among the first people to break into the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the 2020 Electoral College vote have reached agreements calling for them to plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding. Jerod and Joshua Hughes climbed through a broken window and Jerod Hughes …

The Christian Post reports: Caleb Snodgrass, an elder at Fellowship Baptist Church who has been serving in that role for approximately four years, told The Christian Post in an interview Friday that the church was told on June 5 by Jordan Hall’s wife, Mandy, that he physically abused her and her son. After the incident, she reportedly kicked him out …

The Christian Post reports: More than a month after his arrest on DUI and weapons charges, Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, has removed Pastor Jordan Daniel “J.D.” Hall from ministry due to allegations of “serious sin.” Hall, known for his scathing criticisms of Christian leaders on his now-defunct polemics website Pulpit & Pen and, more recently, Protestia, has also …

The Christian Post reports: Aaron and Melissa Klein, a Christian couple whose bakery has been held up in the courts for years and were ordered to pay $135,000 in damages for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, are now working on opening a new shop to “show God’s goodness to everyone.” The Kleins, who owned Sweet Cakes …

The Missoula Current reports: While the Governor’s Office has declined to reveal the location of Gov. Greg Gianforte during Montana’s unprecedented flooding disaster, the national news outlet Newsy reported that the state’s top elected official and his wife were vacationing in Tuscany. On Thursday, Newsy was the first to report Gianforte’s location, achieving what Montana’s numerous news outlets couldn’t despite …

Helena’s NBC News affiliate reports: After a tight race and a nearly 48-hour wait for the final results, it appears former U.S. Rep. and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has secured the Republican nomination for U.S. House in Montana’s new western congressional district. The last large pool of uncounted votes – from Lincoln County – were released Thursday afternoon, extending Zinke’s …

Helena’s NBC News affiliate reports:  Charges of felony intimidation and possession of explosives have been filed against Helena resident Logan S. Pallister, 23. Police report he has allegedly threatened harm at Helena High School multiple times in the past. According to court documents, Helena Police were advised of a possible school threat on the evening of Monday, May 30. An …

The Great Falls Tribune reports: A conservative minister who seemed to be a darling of far-right politicians in the state has admitted that he fabricated a story about a transgender Native American lobbyist allegedly berating a state senator so badly that he sought the protection of the Montana Senate’s sergeant-at-arms. In a libel case that has raged on for more …

Religion News Service reports: A Montana Baptist pastor who has spent years warning that liberals were taking over the Southern Baptist Convention and evangelical churches, was arrested on DUI and weapons charges. Jordan Daniel “J.D.” Hall, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, and publisher of the online Christian polemics site Protestia, was arrested on May 11 after a …

The Daily Mail reports: Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) got into a confrontation with employees of a Montana airport which grew so heated that law enforcement had to get involved, a new video showed on Sunday. Cruz was spotted at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport shortly after noon on Sunday, apparently irritated by missing his flight, according to the Reddit user who …